Domestic appliance



" J. B. DYER DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Jan. 8, 1946.

s sheets-sheet 1 Original Filed Oct. 5, 1942 may Jan. 8, 1946; J, B,DYER v 2,392,652

DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Original Filed 001;. 5, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 8,1946. J. B. DYER DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Original Filed Oct. 5, 1942 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Jan; 8, 1946 DOMESTIC APPLIANCE John B. Dyer,Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, acorporation of Delaware Application October 5, 1942, Serial No. 460,753,which is a division of application Serial No. 269,594, April 24, 1939.Divided and this application June 16. 19 13, Serial No. 491,033

9 Claims.

This invention relates toa domestic appliance and more particularly toautomatic washing machines and centrifugal rinsing and drying machines.t

This is a division of my copending application ,8. N. 460,753, filedOctober'5, 1942, which is a division of my application S, N. 269,594,filed April 24, 1939, for Domestic appliance, now Patent No. 2,313,928.

An object of this invention is to provide a transmission for selectivelyimparting rotation to a tub and vertical agitation to an agitator.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being hadto the accompanyingdrawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearlyshown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation with the casing in section of one form ofan automatic washin machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the clutch mechanism shown inFig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of the spinning and agitatingmechanism taken along the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Referring now'to the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1 an outer sheetmetal shell 20, closed at the top by a lid 22, provided with fourvertical inner frame members 24, having adjustable gliders 26 at theirlower ends. These vertical frame members 24 are held in position attheir lower ends by diagonal frame members 28 and at their mid-portionby arc-shaped frame members 30 which follow the contour of the outershell 20. The upper ends of the frame members 24 are provided withbrackets 32 which support a collecting trough 35 formed on the inside ofthe in-turned flange at the top of the outer shell 29. The collectingtrough 34 is provided with a drain which includes the downwardlyextendil'lg pipe 3% which connects to the sewer or other form of wastewater disposal. The frame members 25s at their upper ends are bentinwardly to support the upper ends of floating supporting rods 38 forsupporting of the moving parts of the washing machine. -These rods areprovided with thick, soft rubber vibration absorbing washers M on eitherside of the iii-turned upper ends of the frame members i i. Thesewashers are heldin position by nuts threaded r r a a onto the ends orrods Driving mechanism The main moving parts of the washer are bettershown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, and include the The clutch or drive shaft 62(Fig. 3) is provided with a spinning clutch 68 for spinning the tub andan agitation clutch 10 which connects the clutch shaft 82 to a pinion oragitator drive collar 12 which in turn drives a larger gear 14 keyed toone end of the shaft 18. The shaft 18 is rotatably mounted in a doublebearing sleeve I8 which in turn is fixed within a bearing support andheld in position by a set screw 82. The sleeve 18 is provided with ashoulder at the end nearest the gear 14 which engages the adjacent endof the bearing support 80 in order to properly locate the sleeve 18. v

The shaft 16 at the end opposite the gear 14 is provided with a heavymetal disc 84 having a crankpin 86 which extends into the piston shapedslide member 88 of a Scotch yoke drive mechanism. The slide member 88 isreceived within a cylindrical member 90 formed with a slot 92 forreceiving the crankpin 86. This cylindrical member 90 is connected tothe lower end of agi-.

tator shaft 94. The crankcase 58 is provided with a cover plate 203 bywhich the sleeve 18 may be withdrawn from the bearing support 88 afterloosening the set screw 82 in order to remove drive pin 86 from theScotch yoke drive. This will allow access to the agitator rod 94 whichis made possible by the closure plate 28%.

In order to permit the agitator shaft 95 to rotate, it is provided witha bearing member so at its lower end which is rotativeiy mounted in arecess provided in the top of the cylindrical member 90 by a flangedplate 38. The memher '93 may be welded or f otherwise fastened "to thebottom of the agitator t t and is free to rotate within the recess theopenins of the plate The strait t l ent'erticsllgv I if and @EPWY isconnected rail agitator hi2 which is located within the tub I04. Theagitator shaft 94 is hollow and is provided at its upper end with a studupon which is-threaded a clamping nut I06 for clamping the agitator hubI10 to the top of the shaft 94. The agitator I02 is threaded onto itshub I18 and-has a sheet metal cap I08 providing a smooth crown for thetop of the agi'- tator I02 which covers the clamping nut I08. The

agitator is somewhat in the form oi. a thimble and has a metal flange Hat its lower end to which is riveted a heavy rubber flange I I 2.

When the driving motor 50 operates and the clutch I0 is engaged, thepinion I2 will drive the gear '54 to revolve the crankpin 66 of theScotch yoke drive mechanism for reciprocating the agitator shaft 9% atthe rate of several hundred times a minute. This agitation providesexcellent washing of the clothes in the tub I05. The clothes have verylittle contact with the agitator or the sides and bottom of the tub sothat the clothes are subjected to little wear and tear during thewashing operation. For the washing operation the tab is filled to alevel about the bottom of the cap I06. The construction of the clutchmechanism is better shown in Fi 3.

' The clutches The clutches 88 and,10 are connected to the clutch shaft62 byja tapered pin II4 which connects the sleeve II6 to the clutchshaft 62. Riveted to each end of the sleeve II6 are the cupshapeddriving members H8 and I20 which slidingly support the notched multipledisc driving plates I22 and I24 of the spinning and agitating clutches68 and I0. The driven plates of the spinning clutch 68 are designated bythe reference character I26 and are provided with teethed aperturesreceiving the splined sleeve or collar I28 which is rotatably mountedupon the clutch shaft 62 and is provided with the spinning helical gearI30 for spinning the tub.

When the spinning clutch is engaged as shown in Fig. 3, the driving anddriven plates I22 and I26 are held together by a spring I32 whichimposes a limited amount of tension upon the clutch 8 plates through thecombined clutch and brake member I46, which is slidably keyed on sleeveI28, so as to permit a slipping of the clutch at the start of thespinning operation in order to prevent too great a strain upon thedriving mechanism or driving motor; This spring I32 is adjusted by theadjusting and lock nuts I34 which are threaded onto the sleeve I 28. Theagitating clutch I0 is also providedfwith driven clutch plates I36provided with teeth engaging the splined end'of the sleeve I38 whichcarries the agitator pinion I2.

disengaged. The clutch throw-out and brake member I42 is moved to theright by the brake plate I42a fastened to and supported by the clutchoperating rod I44 which also carries the brake plate I46a whichcooperates with the clutch throw-out member I46 located between theclutch spring I32 and the clutch plates I22 and I26 of the spinningclutch 68. When the clutch rod I44 is moved to the right, as shownsocket portion I64. The upper end of the seal in Fig. 3, the clutchthrow-out member I42 retracts the clutch spring I40 to disengage theagitator clutch I0 and the agitator drive from the clutch shaft 62 andsimultaneously applies a brake action theerto. In this position,however, the spinning clutch spring I32 is permitted, through the memberI46, to; exert its limitedtension uponthe clutch plates of the spinningclutch 68 so that the helical gear I30v which spins the tub is'connected through the clutch plates to the clutch shaft 62. Therefore,when the rod I44 is moved to the right, the tub I04 spins, and a brakeaction is imposed on the reciprocation mechanism of agitator I02. Whenthe rod I44 is moved to the left, the agitator reciprocates, and a brakeaction-is imposed on the rotation mechanism of the tub I04.

The spinning mechanism rod 94to reciprocate independently of the sleeveI52 and to cause the rod 94 to rotate" with the -sleeve,l52. The upperend of the sleeve I52 is provided with a flange to which is bolted aflanged tapered member I6] which extends upwardly into a recess formedin the bottom of the tub and is provided with aball-shaped upper endportion. Resting on this ball-shaped upper end portion is a ball-shapedhard rubber washer I62 upon which rests a socket portion I64 of thebottom casting I66'of the tub I04. This socket portion I64 is providedwith a pair of screwsI68 which have projections formed on their endsentering into slots I'I0 provided in the ball-shaped portion at theupper end of the member I60. The projecting portions of the screws I68provide the driving engagement between the member I60 and the bottom I66of the tub I04. The screws I68 also hold the hard rubber washer I62 inthe socket I64 of the bottom I66 of the tub I04.

In order to seal the upper end of the member I60 as well as the agitatorshaft 84 there is provided a bellows type seal member I12 of properlycompounded rubber or some other rubberlike material such as Duprene orneoprene."

The lower end of the seal member II2is provided with a heavy ring whichis heldbetween the hard rubber member I62 and the flange of the memberI12 is also provided with a ring portion I14 which is clamped between ametal ring I16 which fits tightly upon a reduced portion of the agitatorshaft 06 and an agitator mounted member I18 which also fits upon thereduced upper end portion of the agitator shaft 94 and is held in placeby the nut I08. The agitator I02 together with-its cap I08 form anassembly which is threaded onto the member I10 after the assem-' bly ofthe washing machine. The bottom I66 of the tub I05 is formed of a heavycast metal, such as cast iron, zinc or brass and has a conical upwardlyextending portion which surrounds the member I60 and is located withinthe confines of the agitator so that the bail and socket-connection maybe placed at the proper point so as to provide an inherent balance ofthe tub in order that the spinning of the tub may be started withoutserious vibration. The bottom of the tub is weighted around the rim insuch a fashion that no matter how an ordinary quantity of clothes isdistributed within the tub, the tub will assume a position so as tocompensate for any unbalance.

Water and suds disposal the manner disclosed herein that this deposit ofsuds may be avoided. My method of accomplishing this is to cause theremoval of the water from the central portion of the tub while the tubis being spun. I find that under such conditions the clothes'remainagainst the outer side of the tub while the water bearing the sudsremains and is drawn from the central portion of the tub, since the sudsare lighter than the water or the clothes. For doing this I provide anangular insert I80 in the bottom of the tub which is provided with anumber of comparatively large holes arranged in a. circle about midwaybetween the rim and the center of the tub and provide the major outletfromthe tub. These holes, designated by the reference character I82, maybe of any suitable number and size such as 24 three-'eighths inch holes.

Beneath the insert I80 there is provided a passage I84 through whichwater flows to four sets of passages I86 which extend through the edgeof the bottom I66 and .connect to a recess I88 formed at the bottom ofeach of the four vertical risers I90 which are fastened upon the outsideof the sheet metal side wall I92 of the tub I04 at four evenly spacedpositions. The side wall I92 and the riser I90 are fastened to thebottom I66 of the tub by the screws I94 and this joint is sealed by asuitable gasket. The side walls I92 are tapered inwardly as they extendupwardly from the top of the bottom member I66. This taper is preferablyat an angle of from 7 to 10 degrees. A few small holes I96 are providedthrough the side walls I92 at the bottom of the tapered portion andlocated at four different portions of the wall so that they communicatedirectly with the passage provided by each of the risers I90. Theseholes are quite small and have a much smaller capacity than the holesI82 and I86. These smaller holes are provided for removing the smallportion of the water which cannot readily be removed through the outletsI92 after the major portion of the water has been removed.

The water is drawn through the outlets I82 and I96 and up the risers I90bycentrifugalforce since the risers I90 are tapered outwardly and have aspout which overhangs the collecting trough 34. These passages form acentrifugal pump which rapidly eiipels the water from the tub into thetrough from which it flows down through the pipe 36 to the drain. This.method of removing water also provides an excellent means for removingthe sand and dirt which does not remain in suspension in the water butwhich collects in the bottom oi" the tub adjacent the holes The rapidmovement of the water from the tub out through the holes I02 carrie; thesand and dirt with itand so cleans the bottom of the tub. Instead of thefour risers 530, the metal may continue around the tub hit to form asingle tub-shaped riser.

Floating support The flange I60 is provided with arms I96 which areconnected to links I98 which in turn connect to the lower ends of thesupporting rods 38 provided with rubber mountings I above and below thelinks I98. This provides a floating mounting for the tub and its drivingmechanism so that during the spinning operation the entire mass canrotate about its center of gravity with considerable freedom.

Automatic controls are provided and are specifically described in mysaid applications to which reference is made for a more detaileddescription. Parts of these controls are shown in 5 Fig. 1 and arenumbered m, 331, 33s, 33s, 35s,

351, 359. The function and operation of these parts are not immediatelypertinent to the subject matter of this application and hence are notherein described. v

When the automatic control'actuates the shaft I44 to the right (Fig. 3)the agitator clutch I0 is released and the spinning clutch. is engaged.

The tension of the clutch spring of the spinning clutch 681s such thatit will allow considerable 5 slippage before the helical gear I30 willbegin to turn and rotate thehelical gear I50 and the tub I 04. This willprevent too great a strain upon the motor and the mechanismwhich rotatesthe tub I04. The universal type of suspension for the tub I04 willprevent vibration during the accelerating period and after the tub getsup to speed the floating support'provided. by the rods 38 will allow themechanism to rotate about its center of gravity and thereby will preventdestructive vibration. The spinning or rotation of the tub will thencause the flow of water out of the tub through the holes I82 and therisers I into the collecting trough 34 andthe drain pipe 36. Thus inthis way, after the clothes have been agitated or washed, this washwater is removed from the tub by this spinning operation. When theautomatic control actuates the shaft I44 to the left, the agitatorclutch I0 is engaged to cause vertical agitation of agitator I02, whilethe spinclutch 68 is disengaged and a brake action is imposed thereon tomaintain the tub I04 stationary during the agitation period.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed,constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A- washing machine comprising a rotatable tub, a verticallyreciprocable agitator in said tub, a motor, a transmission mechanismconnectting said motor, tub and agitator and including a rotatablesleeve connected to said tub, a vertically reciprocable shaft connectedto said agitator, mechanism to permit concurrent rotation ofsaidagitator and tub and permit vertical reciprocation of said agitatorindependently of said tub, driving connections between said motor,sleeve and shaft including rotating mechanism to rotate said sleeve andreciprocating mechanism to reciprocate said shaft, means to preventoperation of said reciprocating mechanism while rendering effective saidrotating mechanism and to apply a braking action to said rotatingmechanism while rendering said reciprocating mechanism effective.

2. A washing machine comprising a rotatable tub, a verticallyreciprocable agitator in said tubsaid motor, tub and agitator and inclntatable sleeve connected to said a M 1 reciprocable shaft connected tosaid agitator, a Scotch yoke at the lower end of said shaft, ahorizontal gear at the lower end of said sleeve,

and mechanism connecting said motor, Scotch yoke and gear selectively torotate said gear to rotate said sleeve and tub while preventing verticalreciprocation of said agitation or to operate said Scotch yoke toreciprocate said shaft and agitator while applying a braking action tosaid sleeve and tub.

' 3. A washing machine comprising "a vertical rotatable sleeve to beconnected to a rotatable tub, a vertically reciprocable shaft to beconnected to an agitator, said sleeve and shaft being coaxial, ahorizontal gear connected to said sleeve, a Scotch yoke connected tosaid shaft, a motor,

a horizontally disposed drive shaft connected to said motor, a wormdrive collar slidably mounted on said drive shaft in engagement withsaid hori zontal gear, an agitator drive collar slidably mounted on saiddrive shaft, speed reduction mechanism connecting said agitator drivecollar and Scotch yoke, and mechanism selectively en gagin said driveshaft to either one of 'said collars While applying a braking action tothe other or said collars.

shaft and drivingly connected to said tub sleeve,

a horizontal agitation collar slidably mounted on said drive shaft anddrivingly connected to said collar slidably mounted on said drive shaftand having a spiral gear thereon, a horizontal gear wheel secured tosaid tub sleeve and meshing with said spiral gear, a horizontalagitation collar slidably-mounted on saiddrive shaft, speed reductionmechanism connected to said agitation collar, vertical reciprocationmechanism connected to said agitator shaft and to said speed reductionmechanism, clutch mechanism selectively connecting said drive shaft tosaid spin collar and agitation collar selectively to rotate said tubsleeve and reciprocate said agitator shaft, and brake means for one ofsaid collars applicable while the other collar is connected to saiddrive shaft.

6. A transmission comprising a first named 60 is being driven.

rotatable sleeve and a lngitudinally reciprocable shaft coaxiallydisposed about a first named axis,

a rotatable drive shaft axially disposed about a second named axis, aspin collar slidably mounted on said drive shaft and drivingly connectedto said first named rotatable sleeve, a reciprocation collar slidablymounted onsaid drive shaft and drivingly connected to said agitatorshaft, clutch means selectively drivingly connecting said driveshaft tosaid spin collar and reciprocation collar, and brake means for one ofsaid collars applicable while the other collar is connected to saiddrive shaft.

7. A transmission comprising a rotatable sleeve and a longitudinallyreciprocable shafircoaxially disposed, a rotatable drive shaft, a spincollar slidably mounted on said drive shaft and drivingly connected tosaid rotatable sleeve, a reciprocation collar slidably mounted on saiddrive shaft and drivingly connected to said agitator shaft,

clutch means selectively drivingly connecting said drive shaft to saidspin collar and reciprocation collar, and brake means for one of saidcollars applicable while the other collar is connected to said driveshift.

8. A transmission'comprising'a rotatable sleeve member connectible to anobject to be rotated and a longitudinally reciprocable shaft memberconnectible to an object to be'reciprocated, said members beingcoaxially disposed, a rotatable drive shaft, rotary mechanism drivinglyconnected to said rotatable sleeve member, rotaryreciproca-tionmechanism drivingly connected to said reciprocable shaft member, clutchmeans 5 selectively drivingly connecting said drive shaft agitatorshaft, clutch means selectively drivingly to said mechanisms selectivelyto drive said rotatable sleeve member and said reciprocable shaftmember, and brake means effective upon one of said members while theother of said members is 40 selectively driven. a

9. A transmission comprising a first named rotatable sleeve member. anda-longitudinally reciprocable shaft member coaxially disposed about afirst named axis, a rotatable drive shaft axially disposed about asecond named axis, a first named spiral gear on said first named rogear, a reciprocation collar slidably mounted on said drive shaft anddrivingly connected to said Scotch yoke mechanism clutch meansselectively drivingly connecting said drive shaft to said rotationcollar and reciprocation collar to drive said rotatable member andreciprocable shaft member respectively, and brake means effective on oneof said members while the other member JOHN B. DYER.

